Applications are now open for community groups to apply for up to 20 thousand dollars of funding to undertake locally relevant research projects through Curious Minds Taranaki.

"The core objective of Curious Minds Participatory Science Platform is to build capability, and a life-long interest and fascination with science, through engaging, real-world research, to inspire and provide relevance as to how science forms a critical part of our daily lives," says Venture Taranaki, General Manager Regional Strategy and Sectors, Anne Probert.

Curious Minds Taranaki funds, supports, and provides expertise to community groups looking to explore ideas and carry out research investigations that are educationally valuable, locally relevant, and scientifically robust with expressions of interest closing Friday 21 October.

"One of the more recently funded projects saw Curious Minds Taranaki working alongside The East Taranaki Environment Collective and Norfolk School to begin managing the pest control at Everett Park, near Inglewood," says Anne.

The project aimed to answer the question ‘Did curiosity kill the possum?’ with a trap network laid with the help of pupils to target possums in the park involving setting up cameras to observe possum behaviour and testing four different trap designs.

"We tested the Sentinel, Goodnature A12, Steve Allen, and Trapinator traps designs, and cameras were set up on the traps to see how the possums interacted with them," says The East Taranaki Environment Collective, Conservation Manager, Kat Strang.

"Traps were baited every five days, and after three weeks the cameras were brought in."

ETEC staff analysed the videos and recorded the possum’s interactions with the traps. The students from Norfolk School then examined this data and made recommendations on the specific trap that the Trust should use and why to catch the most possums.

"It’s exciting to see that the Norfolk School students were able to assist in a real-world issue in their own backyard and through their environmental monitoring and research they could make an informed recommendation that is now being implemented," says Anne.

Thom Adams, Programme Coordinator for Venture Taranaki, encourages anyone with a project in mind to register their idea and find out if Curious Minds Taranaki can support it to be turned into research action.

Any type of community group or research professionals may apply for this funding so long as the eligibility criteria are met. Community groups may include students, schools, kura, community-based organisations, businesses or Māori organisations and collectives.

Visit curiousmindstaranaki.org.nz to find out more and register your idea or contact Thomas Adams, Curious Minds Programme Coordinator, to discuss your idea further.

PSP Curious Minds

The Curious Minds Participatory Science Platform (PSP) is a New Zealand Government initiative funded by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and delivered locally by Venture Taranaki in collaboration with Taranaki Regional Council.

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